Cake (2015)

Title: Cake
Release Date: 23 January 2015
Directed by: Daniel Barnz
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3442006
My Rating: (5/10) ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

The most honest thing in this movie is the relationship between Jennifer Aniston's character and her Mexican housekeeper. Adriana Barraza gives an honest, truthful performance. Jennifer Aniston shows the side of herself we've always known she's hiding. 

Strange Magic (2015)

Title: Strange Magic
Release Date: 23 January 2015
Directed by: Gary Rydstrom
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Kristen Chenowith, Elijah Kelley, Alan Cumming
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4191054
My Rating: (3/10) ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

May qualify as child abuse in some states. 

Spare Parts (2015)

Title: Spare Parts
Release Date: 16 January 2015
Directed by: Sean McNamara
Starring: George Lopez, Esai Morales, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Lee Curtis
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3233418/
My Rating: (8/10) ★★★★★★★★☆☆

Okay fine, I'm a sentimentalist--I love a good cry. Few things fuel me on a Saturday afternoon like an unexpected tug on the strings of my heart to remind me I actually still have one beating inside. So lets see, what do we have here? A story about marginalized kids who must come together to accomplish something major while also unexpectedly gaining self worth? You've got my attention. Wait, what? There's also a side story about the mores of Latino masculinity and a father/son finding common ground and learning to accept each other? START THE MOVIE START THE MOVIE START THE MOVIE!!

Every season there comes a feel-good film that actually makes you feel good. A well-written story that is rarely told, led by a committed and talented cast. This season, I am happy to say, Spare Parts is that film. Led warmly by George Lopez in a surprising display of depth, the true standout is Esai Morales who wholly embodies the Latin American hombre complicado without slipping into parody. Following suit, the younger actors all manage to create distinct three dimensional characters, with at least two leaving lasting impressions.

Thanks entirely to a smart script by Joshua Davis, this film, which could be watched as a daring call for immigration reform, never feels political or partisan. Davis succeeds at humanizing a complicated subject without ever compromising the integrity of his characters or reducing them to symbols.

So yes I was primed to love this movie--I saw it on opening weekend to support mi gente for God's sake. But being the target audience is an uncomfortable place to be. When my expectations are high, I'm easy to disappoint, finding myself unable to silence the shrill curmudgeon inside me screaming "nothing kills the mood like bad writing, don't embarrass yourself! don't be fooled!" Lucky this time the curmudgeon finally got to take a break.

Inherent Vice (2015)

Title: Inherent Vice
Release Date: 9 January 2015 (Wide Release)
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston, Benicio Del Toro, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1791528/
My Rating: (7.5/10) ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Emanating enough smoke to give the entire audience a contact high, Inherent Vice is a confidently quirky exploration that fits glibly into the canon of Director Paul Thomas Anderson.

When I say Inherent Vice left more questions than it answered, let me be clear: I enjoyed asking the questions, and I don’t always need answers. Often humorous, and occasionally poetic, this film is well-acted across the board with Joaquin Phoenix continuing his journey towards becoming one of the most interesting actors working at his level. Special note goes to Josh Brolin who makes a good foil and who has at least one challenging comic bit that could have easily escaped him.

Sure, if you want all your rising action to land like rising action, and you draw a hard line at clarity of plot, then this movie probably isn't for you. The lead character is a proud hippie, and stylistically the movie follows suit—often times zoning out for a bit, when suddenly something will come along to snap everything into sharp and immediate focus. The Devil...well he's in the details and here, man, here we don’t care about the details. 

If, however, you can get behind a sometimes meandering character study that doesn't always explain itself, centered around a lovelorn dude with (spoiler) a possibly imaginary woman who speaks his thoughts, then give time to Inherent Vice. If not for the goosebump-inducing unbroken 6 minute shot that lands squarely in the middle of the film, then do it for the way Paul Thomas Anderson always manages to revive the 70’s without ever feeling precious or pastiche.